Posts Tagged ‘puppy training’
Why Is It Dangerous To Leave Your Dog’s Collar On While In The Crate
Your dog’s crate should be his or her’s safe haven- a place to relax, a place to sleep, a place of comfort and safety. Unfortunately, there have been stories about dogs accidentally strangling themselves in their crates while their owners are not home. It is such a tragedy, and one that can be avoided, so please please please adhere to these safety tips!
COLLARS
A dog’s collar could get caught on the latches or the bars of the crate. When my Valentino was a puppy, he figured out how to escape the crate (and not through the door!!) And a lot of dogs will try to do this. Well if he had a collar on, he could have gotten it stuck while trying to escape. If they do get stuck, they panic and try to get themselves free which usually only makes it worse, and they can end up injured or strangle themselves 🙁
TAGS AND HOOKS
Tags and hooks can also catch up on the bars or the doors of the crate- which is another reason why you should remove your dogs collar before he or she is put in the crate.
CHEWING
Some dogs out of boredom, will try to chew on their collar while in the crate. Not only is this expensive to buy a new collar, if your dog swallows part of the collar, this may require expensive surgery too! Also do not leave your dogs collar on top of the crate (esp. with wire crates), because the dog may be tempted to reach it, and pull it into the crate to chew on it.
SCRATCHING
Another thing that can happen is your dog can scratch at its collar, to try to get it off, and hurt himself in the process, by either scratching the skin raw, or getting its leg caught in the collar itself.
Treat your puppy as a toddler, and take all precautions!
House Training Tips!
Some clients have recently asked us about house training, so we thought we would share some tips!
(1) Keep your pup on a regular feeding/watering and walking schedule.
(2) Your pup’s walking schedule depends on his age and how far along he is in house training. Young puppies always need to go out first thing in the morning, last thing at night, and shortly after naps, playtime and eating. Other than that, a typical walking schedule is every hour for how old your pup is in months. So if you have a 3 month old pup, he should be able to hold it 2/3 hours (of course this varies).
(3) Your puppy always needs to be monitored in your home, so as to not let him have accidents. Watch for signs such as whining, barking, and sniffing. Be aware of your pup’s signals that he has to go!
(4) When you are not around, or not able to watch your pup, he should be in a crate. Crate training is an excellent technique for helping with house training, and keeping your pup safe while he is still young, and curious! The crate should not be too big. Gradually, as he gets older and grows you can increase the size of the crate, and eventually give him more and more space while still keeping his environment safe.
(5) When you do take him out to go to the bathroom, praise and treat him afterwards. I would give him the same treat for going outside, and only give him that treat for doing just that. Also, take him to the same spot each time to go to the bathroom.
(6) If you find your pup in the act of eliminating indoors, startle him, so he might stop mid-stream, and take him directly outside to finish. Then reward and praise. If you find that he elimiated but did not catch him in the act, you cannot scold him, because he will not relate that to the wrong act.
Good luck!!
How To Control Your Puppy’s Barking Habit
(From Dogster.com) Dogs bark at things for several reasons including a perceived a threat, a sign of boredom, or a cry for attention. Barking is also a form of communication between dogs and they have distinct sounds and volumes for different expressions. A dog barking in a high pitch is often excited, a dog sort of gurgling in a lower pitch is usually content. A dog emitting a low growl is issuing a warning.
All breeds except the Basenji bark. Some are more vocal than others such as those bred from guard dogs. Puppies are looking for work at this age and, in the case of incessant barking, warning their owner of impending danger is their work. The trash truck is an enemy, the doorbell is an enemy, the dog barking down the street is an enemy.
There are two approaches to stopping barking – deterrents and training. Often the best result is to use both.
Deterrents
- Get a Ultrasonic Deterrent – These make a sound undetectable to human ears which discourages barking.
- Use a Citrus Collar – This sprays citrus near your puppy’s face when he barks and acts as a deterrent.
- Hire a dog walker – This will ease boredom if you’re away.
- Acupuncture – This solves many problems, from depression to colds. It can also help with behavior problems such as excessive barking by relaxing your puppy and balancing their system.
- Leave Things to Do – Leave interactive toys and Kongs out for your dog if you’re going out to keep your puppy busy.
- Leave the Blinds Down – If your puppy is barking mostly in reaction to sights outside, closing the blinds will help stop him.
Training
- Make Sure You’re Established as Alpha – Obedience training helps to establish this as does actions such as deciding when you pet your puppy or when he can, or can’t, get on the couch.
- Train Your Puppy to Bark – Yes, this will actually help. Train your puppy to bark on command. Hold a treat up to your chin and say “Speak!” When your puppy speaks, reward him. Next, say “Whisper!” in a very soft voice and reward when your pup figures out how to lower his voice. When he barks on his own, use the “Whisper!” command.
- Train Your Puppy Not to Bark – Now you can train your puppy not to bark. Start with “Speak!” then command “Whisper!” and, finally, say “Quiet!” in an even softer voice. Most puppies will find this exercise fun and will easily figure out what you want him to do. Be sure to praise and reward whenever he accomplishes a command.
One of the most frequent reasons dogs are given up to shelters is excessive barking. This is sad considering that we can easily fix this problem. It’s also ironic since it’s often our own behavior that is causing it.
Lack of a human Alpha in the household confuses a dog and makes him think he is responsible for protection. We encourage barking when it’s fun and then wonder why they continue later. We leave our dogs alone all day and wonder why they get bored and bark. And incorrect training exacerbates the problem. Yet, some view this problem as entirely the dog’s fault. And we all know it’s (usually) unfair to blame it on the dog!
What is Your Puppy’s IQ?
Learning your puppy’s IQ can help you with training, telling you what to focus on. It is best to test and compare within a species, such as dog to dog, as inter-species testing has too many variables. Testing for a dog’s I.Q. is different from testing a human’s but there are some ways to determine his smarts.
Before thinking about testing your puppy’s IQ, your puppy must be at least 12 weeks old and must have been in the home with its new owners for at least 4 weeks.
What you will need:
Test 1 – Observation Learning
Choose an activity that your puppy has seen you do before many times and that it enjoys e.g. going out for a short walk in the yard or ride in the car, getting dinner ready, etc. Engage in the behavior in five stages, scoring 5 points for your puppy’s immediate understanding of your intentions (you take one step toward the door and see if he approaches you and looks enthusiastic or runs to an appropriate place, signaling understanding). Score 0 for paying no attention at all while you complete the entire maneuver. Intermediate scores 1-4 are awarded for intermediate responses.
Test 2 – Problem Solving
Take an empty can and your puppy’s favorite food treat. Show your puppy the treat and then put the treat under the inverted can. Score the puppy’s attempts to obtain the food on a similar 0 to 5 scale. A score of 5 is awarded if the puppy obtains the food treat by knocking the can over and getting the treat within 15 seconds; score the pup 4 for obtaining the food treat within 15-30 seconds; score 3 for completing the task in 30-45 seconds, score 2 for a time of 45-60 seconds, score 1 for eventually getting the treat; score 0 for the pup giving up, losing interest, and walking off defeated.
Test 3 – Problem Solving
Throw a tea towel or the corner of a sheet over the pup so it is completely covered and observe its attempts to think its way out of the situation. Use the same scoring method as in Test 2 above.
Test 4 – Social Learning
Wait until your puppy is near you but is not engaged in any particular activity. Look directly into its eyes and smile. Hold this pose. If the pup comes towards you, this is an excellent result indicating good social learning: score 5. If the pup ignores you, score 0. Intermediate scores are assessed, as before, on a timed basis.
Test 5 – Short Term Memory
Show the pup a delicious food treat and allow him to watch you hide it under a tea towel. Then lift him up in your arms and walk around the room in a large circle before depositing him at least 6 feet from where the food is hidden. If he immediately goes to the food treat and finds it, score 5. If he shows no interest in the treat and doesn’t look for it, score him 0. Intermediate scores are awarded for his finding the treat within 30 seconds, 1 minute, 1-1/2 minutes, and 2 minutes.
There are many other tests you can find or make-up to get an idea of your pup’s I.Q.
For the 5 tests above, the best possible score is a 25; however, it is impossible to test for raw intelligence in dogs. There are always influencing factors!
Have fun with this, and rememebr that with all the variables, really every puppy is a winner no matter what his test score says.